Whispers
by lazy-bones-the-dragon
Summary: G.I. Joe has been ordered to take part in an exchange program. How will some of the best and brightest of the British military learn to deal with their Yankee counterparts across the pond in the Yankee's backyard? Especially when one of them carries a heavy past on her shoulders. OC centric. M to be safe.
1. Disclaimer

Disclaimer:

So wow, I'm actually writing G.I. Joe again. I'm not entirely sure what made me suddenly pick up on the fandom again, but here I am!

This is a sort of rewrite for one of my older fics, which is still up because apparently it's popular though I don't understand why, with an OC of mine who has been collecting dust up until now.

I will start off by saying that while I will do my best to research, I am not fluent in the language difference between American English and the Queen's English. I'll do my best to illustrate, but I can't be 100%.

As for the story, I'm doing a mix of comic and cartoon Joe knowledge. There will be characters that "should" be dead, but aren't because I like them too much haha. It will somewhat unique considering that according to Big Ben's file, he didn't join the Joes until 91. But everything will be scooted up to match up better with "modern" times so to speak. I'll try to be as consistent as possible.

Anyways, please be gentle with me! It's been awhile since I mucked around in this fandom. But hopefully I can provide a good read for everyone.


	2. Chapter One

A soft clearing of a throat was the first sign that she was not alone.

Well, it was the first audible sign. She had figured someone was coming up to her room by the sound of familiar footsteps on polished wooden floors. Regardless, she opened her eyes and peered up at the source of the sounds. Li-Min must have been a sight. She was perfectly balanced on her left palm, legs folded up in a lotus position, while her right hand hovered in front of her face with the fingers pointed down. The young woman took her meditation seriously. However, when she recognized the loafers the other person wore, she immediately flipped back to her feet.

"Hello father," she said very quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. Li-Min carefully brushed herself off as her chestnut brown eyes blinked carefully. In a tank top and shorts, the clothing allowed her very fit physique to be shown off. Her black hair, worn loose instead of the bun she normally bound it up in, was brushed out of her face as she cocked an eyebrow. At 1.8 meters, she was a little on the tall side though she still would get head rubs from the man across from her.

The man she called father shook his head at her. Despite the fact she was of Asian descent, her "father", Earl Edward McColl was a proper middle-aged 1.9m English gentleman with his aristocratic and handsome features. Slightly greying at the temples, it only enhanced the sharp and intelligent blue eyes that were gazing at the younger woman with some fondness. Fit and trim despite his age, he was dressed in a casual grey suit.

"Li-Min, I've told you that you don't need to actually use your voice to speak with me. I don't want you stressing your vocal cords out. I taught you sign language for a reason," he chided her warmly. McColl's smile widened when Li-Min rolled his eyes at him. She was the only one who could get away with such small things, at least in private. "Anyway, I want you to get dressed in haste please."

She tilted her head at him as she scooted for her wardrobe. Lin-Min's room was tastefully decorated as any "proper" English lady's room should be. Her protests had fallen on deaf ears; her adoptive father had insisted that when she was on leave and staying at the house, he would see that she received the treatment due to a "lady" of her standing. "Is there something I should be wearing?"

"We're meeting some generals if that helps you." McColl bit back a chortle seeing Li-Min shoot him an alarmed look before she disappeared into her closet. A laugh finally escaped him as he watched some articles of clothing go flying out of the open door and land haphazardly on the bed. "Nothing too formal m'dear, just something to show your military side without being too fancy?"

When Li-Min finally emerged, dressed in a nice pair of khakis with a black turtleneck, she shot him a half glare as she made sure the shirt covered her neck completely. "And what exactly do we suddenly owe the honor of these guests in the McColl manor?" When she saw that smile cross her father's face, the one he reserved when he was feeling particularly sneaky and mischievous, she bit back a knowing groan.

"Now that would ruin part of the sport, now, here is what we are going to do when the guests actually arrive.

* * *

><p>Li-Min mentally tallied up all the things she was going to say to the elder McColl when this was all over. For now, she kept her silence and out of sight. She was currently waiting in a small room that was above and adjacent to the parlor she knew the guests were going to be herded into. Just beyond the door was a small alcove. Her father had had it built specifically for her to basically to allow her a chance to study people before actually having to speak with them. As long as she kept her aura subdued and quiet, no one ever noticed her up there.<p>

Not for lack of trying, from the parlor itself, the alcove appeared to just be part of the decorations along the second floor. The secret door opened up to allow her access to it. Otherwise, even if they did do a scan of the room, they would never have spotted it unless they got a closer look.

When Charles, the family butler, had announced that their guests had arrived, Edward had shooed Li-Min off. She waited until she could hear the murmur of voices had reached the parlor. One was obviously her father, one she recognized as General Callum Taylor, her superior officer who acted as her liaison between the SAS and MI-6.

The other voice though…not British, American by the sounds of the accent. Her interest peaked; she waited a few more heartbeats before finally sneaking the secret door open and taking up her perch. From her vantage point, she could see the small gathering. Her father was just handing a glass of scotch to Taylor while the American politely declined.

Taylor looked the same as always, lean and clean shaven. His sandy blonde hair that was just slightly starting to go grey was slightly disheveled as he pulled his cap off; running his fingers through it did little to fix the problem. But it was the American that Li-Min fixed her eyes on.

He was tall and broadly built as well, though with blonde hair. Also decked out in dress greens, US Army by the looks of it, with a fair amount of decorations pinned in their appropriate places. Even as he was casually seated on the cushy armchair, there was no mistaking the aura of authority he held. If he was here, it was for something important.

Taylor took a sip of the scotch and smiled. "You always did have a good taste for the vintages McColl." He settled into his own armchair as he placed the stack of files he had been holding onto the small table that lay between the three men.

McColl settled into his own chair, situated so that he could face the other two men and took a sip himself, though giving Taylor a careful look over the edge of his glass. "Of course I do. But I'm sure you aren't here to discuss high society drinks with me old friend. Especially with a guest from across the pond." He nodded at the newcomer. "Though if I suspect he is who I think he is…"

"Lord McColl, may I present General Clayton M. Abernathy."

Abernathy…Abernathy…why did that name sound familiar? Li-Min tucked her chin into her hands as she watched their American guest shake her father's hand. Well, only way to find out was to keep listening.

"Well well, this should be interesting. What brings such an illustrious American general to my manor? No, let me guess…it as to do something with the _**problem**_ that your unit deals with yes?"

Abernathy, to his credit, initially only raised an eyebrow and gave Taylor a look. The other man shrugged. The American shook his head in some amusement before he spoke. "I see that despite officially being retired Lord McColl, you keep your ears in everything."

"_Of course he does. One does not simply retire from MI-6. Not someone with his career and reputation, Spymaster McColl strikes again" _Li-Min thought to herself. _"Though…what is this American up to?"_

"With due respect, yes. Cobra is fast becoming an international problem. It does not help that some of their major players have strong ties here in Europe. There has been some talk that we should start reaching out to our allies to help contain Cobra." Abernathy tapped the files that Taylor had placed down on the table. "We're experimenting with an exchange program of sorts. The upper brass want to see if the best and brightest of the British military can serve alongside Americans. What do you know of G.I. Joe?"

Finally she had names…sort of. Just another vague ringing of bells but still nothing forthcoming to her memory. Cobra she knew, they had caused enough problems to end up on the watch list and she had participated in a few operations to shake their tree, so to speak. G.I. Joe though…that was unfamiliar to her.

McColl picked up the file on top and flicked it open. "Enough, supposedly one of the best kept secrets of the US military. Primarily formed to be an anti-terrorist unit, but you've found yourselves to be the main force combating the problem that is Cobra. Let me guess, you want to recruit my daughter." He turned the file enough that Li-Min could see in fact that it was her file, complete with all its redactions. Good to know her father's word still held sway up there…

"She is one of the best, even with the little that is available to her record. Top scores in covert ops, high IQ scores, proficiency in hand to hand fighting and weaponry. Endorsements across the board from anyone who has had a chance to work with her. And if I dared to say, she's almost like a ninja," Taylor remarked with a straight face. If only he could see her bristle from her perch, she HATED being called a ninja.

Her father gave Taylor a warning look as he shut the file. "Well, I suppose the only person so ask is the woman in question herself."

That was her cue. With the grace of a cat, Li-Min hoisted herself over the alcove lip and quietly grasped the satin rope on her right. Another thing her father had added around their home, people saw decorations, but for her they served as secret walkways for her to access different parts of the manor. With a small swing, she got her toes on the edges of the wooden pillar and then carefully slid down the gap between it and the wall, making sure to use the pillar to hide her presence. Not that it would do any good for her father; he always seemed to have a knack of knowing where she was at any given time.

"Well then, where is the young lady in question then?" She could hear Taylor's question even as she snuck on her hands and knees to get into the small space hidden behind the tapestry that lay behind her father's seat. Not even a tiny rustle of the heavy fabric. Her father loved his dramatics and he'd be sorely disappointed with her if she gave anything away.

"Why, she's right here of course." Li-Min stopped herself from rolling her eyes at her father's completely smug tone as she swept the tapestry aside and took up a position behind her his chair. Taylor actually jumped in his seat a bit, but fortunately did not spill a drop of the scotch. Abernathy though, did not even flinch, only gave her a look from blue eyes she almost could call amused. He continued to gain notches with her, clearly a man to be respected. Her gaze dropped down though to meet the elder McColl. "Well, I assume you heard everything yes?"

She gave a short nod. He prompted her with a cocked eyebrow and she sighed. He was not going let her off easy. Petite hands went up and quickly signed.

*_General Taylor sir, you did say that it was becoming a little difficult to find missions that adequately challenged me. Also of late, I've been inactive because of that. If this G.I. Joe can make use of my skills and I can help others, I am interested.*_ The British Sign Language came easily to her, she preferred to only use her voice with those she knew very well. And that was a very short list.

"Well you have it straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak." McColl shot her a look and earned another silent sigh from her.

She took one step away from the chair, clicked into a smart salute, and signed at Abernathy. _*Sergeant Li-Min McColl of her majesty's army at your service sir.*_

Abernathy stood up and offered his hand, which she looked at dubiously before cautiously returning the handshake. "Please, call me Hawk. I assume you already have a codename for yourself?"

Li-Min blinked carefully. _*Yes sir. In the SAS and MI-6, I operate under the codename Whisper. I assume that is the codename I will continue to use while I am a member of G.I. Joe?*_

"Yes, that's fine," Hawk assured her, "remember that this is a preliminary deal for now. We want to see if we can recruit from other countries into the Joes. We're starting with the British Isles because of our already strong ties." His lip twitched. "The names I am looking at came to me highly recommended, including yours. I hope you are ready to deal with working for us."

She hesitated and looked at her father, who only looked back at her impassively. Was she ready for this? It was one thing for her to have gotten used to working along others here in this country even with her…past. To deal with a completely new group? But…if these Joes were as good as Hawk was saying…well, Edward McColl said only the stupid and lazy stopped learning.

_*I am sure sir, Hawke. When am I to fly out?* _

"In two days. I know you have a lot to do considering you will be doing a lot of flying. Also need to get all your paperwork in order to make the transition as smooth as possible. We'll have the files and paperwork you need to look over by tomorrow and further instructions for you as well. I look forward to working with you, Whisper."

Lin-Min nodded, she knew all too well the messiness that could arise over cross jurisdiction cases. The men said their farewells as she was left to mull over what just happened.

So, she was joining an American counter-terrorist organization as a sort of test run. Along with a few others from what hints Hawk dropped. That was good, she didn't know if she could handle Yank culture all by herself, it would help a lot to be around fellow Brits. Adjusting to one culture had been hard enough when she had first come to the country she now called home.

She was so deep in thought that she just barely stopped herself from jumping when she felt Edward's hand clamp firmly on her shoulder. Twisting around to look up at him, she caught the questioning look he was giving her.

"Sweetheart, you sure about this?"

Whisper hesitated. "…father, I know you've done a lot to protect me while I've been here…serving my new country after…after all _**that**_." Her quiet voice was even lower than usual. "I will always and forever be grateful…but I think maybe having a chance to spread my wings, so to speak, would do me some good. The people I work with here…they don't know the whole story but they know enough. I've always had this…this…feeling they don't fully trust me."

Lord McColl sighed as he wrapped his arm around her small shoulders and firmly steered her down one of the hallways. "I figured. I've tried until I was blue in the face, but there will always be those too thick to see reason." He playfully rubbed at her hair, even as she squirmed in vain. "At least you won't be alone. I have a feeling I know what others got nominated for this." At her questioning look, he clicked his tongue at her. "Oh no, I'll let you figure that out for yourself. I keep telling you that you need to be more social."

The irritated look she shot him only made him more amused. "Anyway dear, let's let the rest of the staff know. I'd hate for you to be unable to make your flight because Ms. Baria decided to smother you in her bosom and drowned you in her tears."


	3. Chapter Two

Finally some Joes show up? Disclaimer: I'm an American so I have no flipping idea how to write British/Irish accents or know too much about their slang. I've done research, but I can't say I'm 100% sure I'm getting them correct. Just point something out to me and I'll correct. On with the story!

* * *

><p>Whisper was suddenly reminded why she hated flying so much, especially on civilian flights. She squinted at her smartphone where she had copied down the instructions given to her by Hawk. At least he had managed to get her a direct flight with no layovers. She gave a slow exhale through her nose as she looked up from the phone at the sign that told her where her terminal gate was.<p>

Then again, she had already had to endure the farewell of the manor staff. Her father hadn't been wrong about Ms. Baria's reaction upon learning she was leaving for an indefinite amount of time. The family chef had nearly smothered the young woman with a rib creaking hug, a rather impressive feat for a middle aged and somewhat still petitely built Indian woman. It hadn't helped when the rest of the kitchen staff had pretty much reacted the same way. Only after Lin-Min assured would give her an address to mail her all sorts of vittles did Baria finally let the younger woman go.

Charles, the head butler, had been more restrained in his farewell but it was clear he too was going to miss her. He had assured her that he would send her anything she wasn't able to pack with her in the first trip.

The Chinese Englishwoman was eternally grateful on how her father's household had taken to her. Brief memories of when she had just been a very confused and scared sixteen year old…no, she shouldn't dwell on those. She double checked to make sure the scarf that one of the manor staff had made for her was wound securely around her neck, hefted her knapsack back on her back, and she was on her way to the designated terminal gate. For this trip she had elected to actually wear civilian clothes in the form of jeans and a black polo shirt. Her PSC-CU was neatly pressed and folded in her luggage. The less attention she drew to herself the better. It had already been bad enough that she had had to present a lot of paperwork for the other bits stored in her luggage. The sharp and pointy bits.

London City Airport was as busy as ever. She practiced her skills by making a small game of identifying whether the bustling people were tourists, locals, or here on business. Whisper then remembered that Hawk had told her to expect other military, they had wanted to get the entire group to travel together just for convenience sake. Speaking of which…as the waiting area of the gate came into view, she saw a small group of two that she immediately pegged as the other military personnel who had been picked for this exchange program. The man and woman noticed her approaching and gave her friendly nods.

"Staff Sergeant David J. Bennet. But you can call me Big Ben." The man had a British accent, Estuary English by the sounds of it. He was tall and of medium build. Short and dark brown hair was stuffed under a furred cap. He was dressed as a civilian as well with a dark leather jacket over khaki cargo pants. His light brown eyes were warm as he got up from his seat and shook Whisper's hand as she managed to shrug off her stuff into a free seat.

The other woman waved jauntily from her seat. She was short, shorter then Whisper, with caramel wavy hair tied up in a short ponytail. An emerald blouse with a white undershirt over cream khakis completed her civilian outfit over a slender, but strong build. "Oh good, so I won't be the only lass around here." A cheerful Irish accent colored her words as she winked at Whisper. Just like the Queen's English being spoken behind clenched teeth as her father put it. "Name's Petty Officer Kelsey Smith, codename Merrow."

Whisper's hands moved elegantly as she signed slowly. She wasn't sure the fluency these two had with BSL. _*It is good to meet you both. You may know me as Whisper.* _Merrow was giving her a careful look while Big Ben was staring hard at her hands.

"Whisper right? Sorry, I'm afraid my BSL is a tad rusty. Definitely something I should brush up on." Big Ben gave her an apologetic smile.

"Ooo, just a codename eh? Let me take a gander that you're intelligence," Merrow said cheekily while Whisper merely cocked an eyebrow at her. "Yup, a birdwatcher."

The Irishwoman merely got a curt tongue click in response as Whisper's hands kept up with the slow signing. _*We're just missing one more?*_

Ben nodded. "Indeed, we're boarding soon so I hope he gets here soon." Just as he said that, Merrow gave a small shriek and a jump as a hand clamped suddenly on her shoulder. She immediately launched into a tirade of colorful curses as the owner of the hand took it back and stifled any chuckles he had behind a grin.

"Well I am here so you all can stop your worrying." The newcomer was tall, a little taller than Big Ben, but of a more slender build to the point where he was almost lanky. His dark chocolate hair was cropped short and he wore a dark black leather jacket over a maroon shirt and brown slacks, his own knapsack over one shoulder. A maroon beret finished off his outfit. His equally dark brown eyes were twinkling with amusement as he gave a slight bow. "Lt. Stone at your service."

Whisper eyed him slowly from head to toe. The way he carried himself and how he managed to give away so little despite being genuinely friendly made her peg him as a fellow intelligence agent if she had to take a guess. Merrow had finally stopped her tirade and was giving Stone a dirty look while Big Ben looked to be struggling between grinning and keeping a straight face.

"Well about time chap. Was thinking the ladies here were going to outnumber me." Big Ben got a poke in the ribs from Merrow for his comment to which he playfully brushed her hand away.

"Well I am so sorry my fellow chap, but you know how absolutely dreadful London traffic is. Also had to avoid a gaggle of rather sluggish tourists on my way here." Stone still had that friendly but secretive smile on his face. "Oh and Whisper is it? You don't need to worry about signing at me, I'm fluent in BSL." He gave her a wink. "One of my many skills."

Whisper shook her head at him. He was certainly an interesting one.

**"Now boarding nonstop British Airways to Washington DC." **They all looked up as the announcement was made.

The Chinese expatriate shrugged her knapsack back on her shoulder as she shook away any lasting doubts she had. Her right hand went up to press against her breastbone for a moment before it lowered. They had already crossed the threshold and there was no going back now.

* * *

><p>"So these are our candidates?" Duke closed the folder he had been looking at before picking up another. Four profiles total, some of the files thinner than others and definitely some with a lot more redactions. In fact one had so many that Duke was surprised that anyone could make an assessment of her file.<p>

"They were heaped with recommendations when I asked around." Hawk closed the file he had been looking at. "I believe they are all material to be immediate Joes without having to go through the greenshirt program."

Beach Head was hunched over in his chair, peering closely at the file belonging to one David J. Bennent. "Ah'll admit, some of these files are good…but wha's with this one?" He yanked the file Duke had just been looking at. "Whisper? She barely 'as anything written in here! An' this one!" He pointed at another file. "Wha' kind of codename is Lt. Stone?"

Hawk gave him a pointed look. "From my understanding, she's been involved in a lot of hush work. The kind that was need to know basis only." He remembered how tight lipped all the officials had been in regards to her. They had only given him enough to let him know that she was one of the best. "As for Stone, same thing. Both did work extensively for intelligence, and honestly perhaps his codename is a play on his part. How can one tell if that really is his name or if it's just another trick?"

Beach Head squirmed a bit under that look. "Alrigh'…and she's mute?"

He got a nod from Hawk. "Yes, I've been told she can talk in limited amounts, but prefers to use sign language."

Duke glanced over. "Well, I guess Snake Eyes won't be alone with that trait anymore." He looked at Hawk. "So they are all to be made Joes?

The general tapped his fingers on the files. "Yes. They have the experience and skill I think to skip that part of the process." While he didn't smile, his expression lightened slightly. "I'm sure you'll find it entertaining to break some new Joes in."

Beach Head grinned under his balaclava. "Yes sir."

Duke groaned. "Great Beach, just don't give them a bad image of us. Not even sure what they think of us at this point."

* * *

><p>Whisper resisted the urge to rub at her eyes. Red eye flight was indeed very accurate. So she settled for blinking hard a few times. Going from late to late time was not good on the mind. At least she was moderately alert. Stone looked unaffected by the long flight; Big Ben looked like he was mostly awake while Merrow was just barely swaying in place. Merrow decided to lean against Big Ben as she stifled a huge yawn.<p>

"Bugger I hate traveling like this," Merrow grumbled, "can't get any bloody decent shut eye on those flying metal tubes." She gave an irritated kick at her luggage.

Big Ben patted her on the arm. "Well its over' at least. Now we just need our ride to show up." Stone was squinting further down the road.

"I think that's it coming round." Stone's guess turned out to be correct as a Jeep pulled up and the man with dark black hair and an unshaven look waved at them over.

"Heeeeeey! You the Brits I'm supposed to be picking up?" His question was barely heard over the blaring music he was playing. Whisper suppressed a wince, if this was an indicator of what kind of people to expect in GI Joe, she was not impressed. It wasn't helped by the look the man gave at her and Merrow. "Although even if you weren't…"

Merrow shoved herself off Big Ben and moved to shove her luggage into the back with a disgusted noise. "Shove off ye Yank, I'm too tired to be hit on by a dim." Stone let out a chuckle as he helped her load in everyone else's. Good thing this Jeep had extra trunk space and five actual seats. Merrow climbed into the backseat to take the far side, Big Ben taking the middle, and Whisper taking the closest side. Stone slide gracefully into the front seat next to their new driver and soon they were off.

"Sooooo, how was the flight ladies and gents?" At least the driver was friendly, even if Whisper was still not appreciating the glances he was shooting them.

Big Ben pulled off his cap to run his fingers through his hair before tugging the cap back on. He shook his head at the driver "Well considering that we just spent 8 bloody hours on a plane during a red eye flight, things could be worst." He gave a sideways mischievous look at Merrow. "At least some of us managed not to drool or snor' through most of it though." His reward was a fist jabbed into his ribs.

"Haha, very funny ye Tommy." Whisper shook her head at the antics of the two; at least it had distracted the driver as well.

_*Perhaps introductions are in order?* _Stone finally jumped in and introduced them all to the driver, who eventually introduced himself as Clutch.

"Got a signer among you huh? Might be useful for you to pick up on some ASL, we got one ourselves." Whisper tilted her in curiosity at that. Well, there was nothing wrong with learning more she supposed. "Anyway, Hawk wanted me to tell you guys that he wants you guys up to speed on some files and info about the baddies we've been kicking around. Uh, you don't have to do it tonight," Clutch added quickly, but Stone shook his head at him.

"We had a bit of a kip on the flight; I think we'll be awake for a while yet." Stone cast a look at everyone else who nodded in agreement with him. "Though it would be nice if we didn't have any PT in the morning, unless you want to see a grand reenacting of a zombie apocalypse."

Clutch grinned. "That depends if our cranky drill sergeant will be that generous. Say ladies I could put in a good word for you if-"He was cut off when Merrow rammed her foot against the back of the seat, "HEY HEY! NO KICKING!"

"Then shut yer trap ye prick." Merrow shot Whisper a grin and thumbs up. Whisper could only offer a shake of her head. Thankfully the ride was short, though a bit white knuckled at some points with how Clutch abused his lead footed tendencies, and they were at their destination which turned out to be a…

"…is this a school for Chaplain Assistants?" Stone had a small perturbed look on his face as Merrow gave a wave at the staring young men and women. "…let me guess, they have no idea."

"Noooope." Clutch grinned as he skillfully maneuvered into the garage marked with a giant 2 and parked the Jeep on the hydrolic lift before spotting someone who was fiddling with some of the spare parts that was lying along the left wall. "Heeeeeey Cover Girl! Looking good! Could you maybe bend over just a little-" The beautiful blonde woman instantly sent the wrench she had been holding sailing through the air and managed to smack Clutch's arm sticking out of the window. He drew said arm back in with a yelp while Cover Girl sent an acid torrent of words at him.

Whisper could only stare as Cover Girl threw the lift switch while still cursing Clutch out before suddenly switching to being polite in a heartbeat. "Oh you guys are the new Joes right? I think Hawk is greeting you at the living quarters area. Welcome to the Joes!"

"…bit of loonies aren't they," Big Ben murmured under his breath and the women could only nod in agreement. Stone merely let out a quiet snort as the lift began descending into the ground. "Oh well, now things make sense."

The ride down was…impressive to say the least. Whisper could make out the multiple levels of the Pit, as Clutch had told them the name of the Joe HQ, and she saw everything from a proper motor pool, briefing rooms, and so much more. She spotted Hawk waiting for them where the she assumed was the living quarters, near the bottom. As soon as the lift stopped, the newcomers quickly exited the Jeep and saluted smartly with Hawk returning it.

"So I'm off for the night, but if any of you want some company…" Clutch grinned, but Merrow whipped around to give him a look at made him clamp his mouth shut. "Right, I'll be just going now." Hawk followed the driver's retreating back with a shake of his head before returning his attention to the group. A group of young men and women in greenshirts were carefully removing all the luggage and such to cart away.

"Welcome all of you. Impressed so far?" Hawk nodded at the affirmatives. "I'll be giving a brief tour of the living quarters area. Oh and these." He handed over a stack of files and each of the Europeans took a few. "I'm assuming you'll be up a bit tonight so you all can take a chance to go over those. Physical exams tomorrow at 0800 hours and physical assessment at 0900 hours. You'll be sparring against some of the senior Joes for the latter. You all officially start being on duty day after tomorrow, so take what time you have to get situated and acquainted with your new teammates. Finally in regards to rooming, you're paired off with each other Big Ben and Stone. Merrow and Whisper. Here are your room numbers. Any questions?" He received head shakes. "Alright, the tour starts now."

* * *

><p>"This place is mighty impressive. Maybe' it won't be such a bad assignment after all," Merrow mused as she scanned the file she was looking at. "Tch, look at these loonies, look ready for a delinquents Halloween party." She tapped the file. "Wut kinna name is Dr. Mindbender?"<p>

The group had chosen to sit in the mostly empty mess hall. The kitchen staff there had kindly put together something, mostly small sandwiches, for the group to munch on while they did their reading. The only other people in the hall at this hour were s few others catching a late dinner it seemed.

One Joe had been brave enough to introduce himself as Dusty and he was currently sitting with them to help answer any questions they had about the members of Cobra.

"Oh yeah, well at least it tells you what kind of person he is doesn't it," Dusty said cheerfully. He had a very amicable personality that even allowed Whisper to lower her guard. A little.

Whisper glanced over her file at the one Merrow was holding. The one she herself was reading was concerning a one Baroness. She vaguely recalled hearing the woman's name before in the gossip that flowed inside MI6, but other than that…well; the woman's list of offenses was impressive at least.

"At least a few of these names are familiar," Stone muttered as he flapped his file, "Destro is definitely one I think all of us have heard some point or another." He got grumbles of agreement.

"Cobra certainly is a serious threat, I can see why the American government was open to more cooperation at the international level." Big Ben closed the file on Sebastian Bludd. "Honestly, it's disgusting."

Whisper's eyes fell to the file that had contained Cobra Commander. Though the file had painted him as a mad man…she knew better. Maybe he was a mad man, but he was a charismatic one that had drawn a huge following. That was extremely dangerous.

"So what do you guys think of us so far?" Dusty had such an open and honest face that Whisper wondered if he could have ever told a lie to save his life. "I mean, I know you haven't been here long but…"

Merrow cocked an eyebrow at him. "Honestly, we had' our ideas of what you Yanks are like…you're really living up to your stereotypes." At Dusty's aghast expression, Merrow finally busted into a belly laugh. "I'm messing with ye! Lighten up. I won't call you a Yank if you don't call me a Brit." She puffed her chest out. "I'm Irish an' proud of it!"

_*As long as you lot don't try to pull any of your stereotypes on us, I think we will be fine.* _Stone translated for her and Dusty grinned in a very unconvincing manner.

"Oh don't worry about that." Yes, he was doing a terrible job at lying.

Big Ben stifled a yawn behind his hand. "Yes well, I think we've had enough of this reading and we can all sleep on it. We have tomorrow to do more mingling." He clapped both Whisper and Merrow on the shoulders. Stone gave a friendly nod to both of them as the two men got up to head to their room.

Merrow shrugged and gave a playful shove to Dusty. "If you want to lie, best not to try it with people who know how to tell if you're lying." She jerked her head as the two women neatly gathered up the files to take back to the admin officer since it was on the way for them. One last jaunty wave at everyone in the mess hall and they were out.

The two stayed silent for a while, since Whisper couldn't sign with the files in her hand.

"Hey Whisper." Merrow's prompt made the other woman look at her. "Sorry if I'm being forward about this, but you're a guarded type aren't you?" Whisper merely blinked at her for a moment, but gave a slow nod, noting that Merrow's accent had lightened. "Figured. Don't worry; I'm sure you think I'm some kind of nutter. But I'm a very people person; I change my approach depending on the person. We folks have to stick together. And I'll try to figure out that finger talk of yours, I can do anything once I put my mind to it."

Whisper gave her a long stare and then tilted her head, but gave her a small nod. They dropped the files off finally and were soon at their room. All their things had been neatly tucked away for them. Merrow took the left bed while Whisper took the right. Burrowing herself into the covers, Whisper let her mind wander for a bit over what she had learned.

She wondered what her father was doing right now. Probably wondering what she was up to. Vaguely as sleep finally crept up on her and the silence was only disturbed by Merrow's quiet snores, did she wonder if perhaps here she could finally make her peace with…everything.

Only one way to find out.


End file.
